Columbus, GA Special Events & Permits: Sidewalk Dining & Cafés (2026)

3(C)(1)(B) requires every outdoor cafe operating in the public right-of-way of the CRD zoning district to keep a minimum seven-foot-wide unobstructed clear passage for pedestrians, measured from whichever is closer, the cafe frontage or the nearest obstruction, and bars using a recess in that frontage to satisfy the width requirement. 3(R)(1) requires an encroachment permit issued by the Director of Engineering, and (R)(2) requires the application to include a scaled drawing showing the proposed layout, materials, and design, the encroachment's relationship to the curb and neighboring buildings, and existing or projected pedestrian traffic movements; the scaled drawing has to be approved before the cafe can operate.

3 layers on operating rules for the same cafe: it must sit immediately adjacent to the indoor establishment operating it, stay open to the sky (fixed or retractable awnings and table umbrellas are allowed), and be removed entirely, tables, chairs, planters and all, if it goes unused for more than a week. Alcohol service is narrowly limited under (O) to beer and wine, consumed only within the cafe, and the City can shut a cafe down at any time under (Q) for festivals, parades, street repairs, or emergencies, with prior written notice given when possible.

Property within the Uptown Facade Board's or Board of Historic and Architectural Review's jurisdiction needs a certificate of appropriateness under (U) before the encroachment permit issues.